by Whitney Burgess of North Texas Daily

Students and local business owners said they want to see something done ASAP.

DENTON — While construction on the Fry Street Village remains stalled, students and local business owners said they want to see something done.

CopyPro Copy Center owner Al Glidewell said he has lost business since the demolition.

"It needs to be rebuilt with some commercial buildings, anything that is retail and that will bring people back down here," Glidewell said.

Regardless of what happens with the property, Glidewell said he thinks it needs to happen fast.

"Something needs to be put in there; that is a prime piece of commercial property," he said.

United Equities Inc. acquired the property last year, and since then, the company has faced adversity from the community as well as the Denton City Council.

On Dec. 11, 2007, Tim Sandifer of United Equities Inc. proposed his plan for a CVS with a drive-through pharmacy to the Denton City Council. The council members debated on how to keep CVS pharmacy customers from having to walk through the drive-through to get to the back door and pharmacy entrance. When they could not come to a consensus on what would be in the customers' best interest, the council members voted, and the motion subsequently failed 3-4.

"For the time being, there are no plans for Fry Street Village until the CVS drive-through is approved," Sandifer said.

According to the contract between CVS and United Equities Inc., the pharmacy must include a drive-through for the construction to continue as planned. Since CVS was the anchor tenant for the Fry Street Village, United Equities Inc. cannot continue with the project until everything has been sorted out with the city.

"I think they need to contact their city council members and ask them why nothing is being done with that space," Sandifer said of Denton citizens.

Spanish senior Jenna Nowlin said she feels the Fry Street Village construction is changing the atmosphere of the area.

"I think that we are losing that Denton feel and how Fry Street was and how people remember it," she said.

Nowlin said she thinks instead of the townhouses that were originally planned for that area, the developers should put in a unique restaurant or bar instead.

"Actually, it might as well just be a parking lot because I don't think they are going to get much further than that for a while," Nowlin said.

In the meantime, students can look forward to the opening of The Beer Pit, the new bar opening in conjunction with The Pita Pit.

The Beer Pit has yet to acquire its liquor license, but owner Tim Raiet said it's only a matter of time. He said he expects the new bar to be open in August or September near the start of the fall semester.

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